As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
An information handling system may include a number of fans within the chassis of the information handling system. In the case of a computer system, for example, the fans blow a stream of air over certain electrical components, dissipating hear generated by closely spaced components so that the components operate within a desired temperature range. Fan cooling systems for computer systems are generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,403 to Mills, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
As computer systems become smaller in size, the components become more crowded within the chassis of the computer system. The reduction in size of the chassis of the computer system may reduce the serviceability of the computer system, as certain components or groups of components may completely block access to another component or group of components. If certain groups of components cannot be easily removed from the chassis of the computer system, the serviceability and modularity of the computer system is compromised.
Some computer systems, including server systems, may have heat dissipation requirements that necessitate the use of multiple fans. In some designs, multiple individual fans may be located at various points in the chassis. These fans may be individually hot swappable. In other designs, the fans may be arranged in the computer system as part of an integrated fan unit that comprises multiple fans. In this design, the fan units are not hot swappable. A single fan cannot be swapped from the unit unless the entire integrated fan unit is removed from the chassis.